The Queen Anne and Interbay farmers markets will be full of festive food-related activities this afternoon at their respective locations. Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain! Check out the schedules for both market below.

At the Queen Anne Farmers Market:

• 4 p.m. – Chef Demo with 5 Spot chefs Anthony and Natalie
• 4 to 4:30 p.m. – Choir Performance with the Queen Anne Performing Arts Market Singers
• 5 to 7 p.m. – Live music by “rockin’ guitar playin’ and singin’ gal” Kate-Lynne Logan
• Check out what’s fresh at the market this week.

At the Interbay Farmers Market:

• 4 to 5 p.m. – Cooking Demonstration with Chef Dan Osser of Whole Foods Market Interbay
• Check out what’s fresh at the market this week.

As always the Queen Anne Farmers Market will take place from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at W Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. The Interbay Farmers Market will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Interbay Urban Center, located at 1819 15th Ave. W.

Check out what’s happening at our two neighborhood farmers markets this week.

At the Queen Anne Farmers Market:

• 4 p.m. – Cooking demonstration with Seif Chirchi from Joule and Revel
• 5:15 p.m. – Local knife sharpener Donna Gerhart shares tips on knives and knife care
• 5:30 p.m. – Knife skills demonstration with Noah from Wild Salmon Seafood Market who will demonstrate how to fillet a whole salmon, then provide cooking tips and show how to grill fish
• 5 to 7 p.m. – Musical performance by award-winning virtuoso guitarist Andre Feriante, with his bold but fluid musical fusion, featuring music from Bach to Leonard Cohen, flamenco improvisation to jazz standards, and even poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca, Rumi and Feriante himself
• Check what’s fresh at the market this week here

At the Interbay Farmers Market:

• 4 to 5 p.m. – Cooking demonstration with Chef Tara Ayers of Ocho
• Check what’s fresh at the market this week here

As always the Queen Anne Farmers Market is happening from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at W Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. The Interbay Farmers Market is taking place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Interbay Urban Center, located at 1819 15th Ave. W.

At the Queen Anne View booth at the Queen Anne Farmers Market yesterday tons of neighbors joined in the fun and shared what they love most about our community–creating a living mural of Queen Anne.

Some of the more popular favorite things included the friendly, close community, the local parks, and Menchie’s (which appeared on the mural not once or twice, but three times).

We also conducted a Queen Anne Farmers Market themed coloring contest, and over 50 kids participated–many from the community, but some visiting from as far away as China! While all of the drawings were absolutely beautiful, after careful consideration we’ve selected four stellar winners. The prize: having their original artwork published right here for the whole community to enjoy.

So without further ado we would like to commend our four winners, in order of youngest to oldest (but equal in awesomeness).

Logan, age 5, whose family lives in Green Lake but loves visiting Queen Anne and the farmers market!

Maya, age 6 (and a half), and her younger sister Stella, both Queen Anne-ers.

Celia, age 7, also from Queen Anne.

And last but certainly not least, Hannah, also age 7.

Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who came by to say hello at the market on Thursday. Hope you all enjoy the sunshine here on the hill this weekend!

The weather report calls for rain, but let’s hope it stays off long enough for the festivities at the Queen Anne Farmers Market and Interbay Farmers Market today. Check out the schedules for both neighborhood markets below.

At the Queen Anne Farmers Market:

• 3 to 7:30 p.m. – At the Info Tent: Join the kids market treasure hunt, and sign up for the QAFM email list and enoy free veggie seeds!
• 4 p.m. – Chef Kaspar Donier from Kaspar’s Special Events & Catering will dazzle the market with his mixed greens, market vegetables and savory granola tossed with assorted dressings and topped with Mt Townsend Truffle Fromage Blanc and Pound Cake with macerated berries!
• 4:30 p.m. – The Queen Anne Performing Arts Market Singers return, this time under the big tree, to sing more favorites! 5 p.m. – The Peterka Family Band will entertain all with Old Time, Folk, Blues and much more!
• 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – I will be at the market representing Queen Anne View. Swing by to say hello, find out more about the site, add your favorite thing about Queen Anne to a living mural of and by the community, or enter the kids coloring contest.

1. Say cheese! Everyone is invited to take an instant picture and help build a living mural of the Queen Anne community.
2. Get ready, get set, grab your crayons and color! Kids can also enter a coloring contest by drawing what they love about the farmers market. They’ll be candy, crayons, and the winning drawings (chosen by market staffers) will be published on Queen Anne View! Judging begins at 7 p.m., so swing by from 3 to 6:45 p.m. to enter.

At the Interbay Farmers Market:

• As of 1 p.m. today the Interbay Farmers Market has not yet posted its schedule for today – check back on the website or Facebook page for details closer to the market start time.

As always the Queen Anne Farmers Market is held from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at Queen Anne Ave N and W Crockett. The Interbay Farmers market is held from 3 to 7 p.m. in the Interbay Whole Foods parking lot on 15th.

*Disclosure: Queen Anne View is a sponsor of the Queen Anne Farmers Market.

It’s that time of the week again – both the Queen Anne Farmers Market and brand new Interbay Farmers Market have a bunch of food-centric events planned for their respective markets today. Check out the highlights below.

At the Queen Anne Farmers Market today:

• 4 p.m. – Chef Demo with Jon Rowley (in the Chef Tent)
• 4 p.m. – Live music by Cort Armstrong (in the Music Tent)
• 4 to 7:30 p.m. – Kids market treasure hunt (at the Info Tent)
• Check out recipes from chef demos in prior weeks here.

At the Interbay Farmers Market today:

• 4 p.m. – Cooking demo with Bastille‘s Chef Jason Stoneburner
• Also at the market this week: Silver Springs Creamery, honey from Billy’s Gardens, pork, beef and lamb from Olsen Farms, fresh cannoli from Pasteria Lucchese, green tomato jam and more.

As always the Queen Anne Farmers Market will be happening from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at W Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. The Interbay Farmers Market will be happening from 3 to 7 p.m. in the Interbay Whole Foods parking lot on 15th Ave.

* Queen Anne Farmers Market FreshBoard image by Maggie Cuevas

Both the Queen Anne Farmers Market and the Interbay Farmers Market have a full docket of foodie events happening this afternoon. Check out the lineup for each below.

At the Queen Anne Farmers Market today:

• 4 p.m. – Chef Demo with Siri Erickson-Brown & Jason Salvo of Local Roots Farm
• 4 to 4:30 p.m. – Local kids from the Queen Anne Performing Arts Market Singers will perform summertime favorites
• 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. – Returning to the market, Vince Martinez & The Great Blue Yonder
• 5:30 p.m. – Kid’s Cooking Class: It’s sushi making with Patrick Rico of Rico’s Sushi Party!
• 5:45 to 7 p.m. – Blvd Park Americana and Folk

After a great season opening last week, the Queen Anne Farmers Market will be back in action at W Crockett Street from 3 to 7:30 p.m. today, Thursday, June 9.

Photo by Laura Levy, courtesy of the Queen Anne Farmers Market.

In addition the the long list fresh items and vendors available at the market each week, there will be a chef demo with Vuong Loc of Queen Anne’s Portage Restaurant and Madrona’s June at 4 p.m. in the chef tent. From the QAFM website:

Chef Loc moved to Seattle in 2006 after working all over the country from New York to Hawaii. With an approach to cooking that centers on simple preparations with refined craftsmanship and a commitment to sourcing only outstanding product, we can’t wait to see what he prepares after a shopping trip at the market.

At 5 p.m. there will be live music courtesy of vocalist and guitarist Beth Whitney.

As if the live music, chef demos, and all around food-centric festivities at the market weren’t enough, Charley+May owner Lauren Formicola will be holding an After Market Wine Tasting from 6 to 9 p.m. every Thursday at her shop, located at 2225 Queen Anne Ave N, until the end of the Queen Anne Farmers Market season.

Check out more photos from opening day at the Queen Anne Farmers Market Facebook page. For more information on the market and its week-to-week events, check out the new QAFM website.

The new Interbay Farmers Market will be opening today, Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. (during our own Queen Anne Farmers Market from 3 to 7:30 p.m.) in the Whole Foods parking lot on 15th Ave West.  Although the market is new to Interbay, which we first reported on last month, the market itself is in its second season – organizers decided to move it from its first home at the Olympic Sculpture Park where it was located last summer to Interbay for following seasons. It will be held at the same time and place every Thursday through October.

Expect lots of vendors and fresh fruits and vegetables at the market opening today, which will feature a cooking demonstration by Chef Brandon Kirksey of Tavolata.

You can get all the latest news about what’s available at the Interbay Farmer’s Market at its website.

Blue skies arrived just in time for the opening of the Queen Anne Farmers Market, which kicks off its 5th season from 3 to 7:30 p.m. today, Thursday, June 2 at W Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. (Watch out for drizzle though – despite the fact that it’s June, rain is still in the forecast for today).

Rain or shine the market will be bustling with over 40 farmers and food vendors, adult and kids cooking demonstrations, and live music.

Check out what’s on the schedule for Opening Day:

• 3 p.m. – Live Music: Mariachi Monarcas of Seattle, sponsored by Umpqua Bank;
• Welcome – George Counts, M.D., Market Founder & Secretary, QANRG;
  
• John Hay Elementary Chorus;
  
• Remarks by: Richard Conlin, Seattle City Council President, Senator Jeanne Kohl Welles, and Representative Reuven Carlyle

• 4 p.m. – Market musician: Vincent Mtz & the Great Blue Yonder
• 4 p.m. – Chef Demo: Seth Caswell, Emmer & Rye
• 5:30 p.m. – Kids Cooking Class

In addition to the market’s popular returning vendors, a number of ready-made food trucks will also be swinging by, including the ever popular Parfait artisan ice cream, Anita’s Crepes, Maximum/Minimus, and a few new ones including Seattle Salads (fresh salads and wraps) and Where Ya At Matt? (Creole soul food). Check out the full list of vendors this year here.

Looking to stock with fresh eats at the market today? Here’s what’s fresh at the market this week: asparagus, spinach, spring greens, peonies, red rhubarb, organic herbs, and more.

Season sponsors include Metropolitan Market; Umpqua
Bank; Rene Stern, Windermere Real Estate; and HomeStreet Bank.

Even with the sparse rain drops falling sporadically around town today, it seems spring has finally arrived, and with that comes, at long last, the opening of the Queen Anne Farmers Market season, which will kick off just one week from today, on Thursday June 2 until Thursday, October 6.

The market, which has always been under the wing of Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth (QANRG), is under new management this year after a disagreement arose between the QANRG and the market’s former director Julie Whitehorn, who has managed the market for the past two years. After many months of uncertainty, Whitehorn and the QANRG were unable to resolve the dispute and opted instead to go their separate ways rather than see the market suffer. Read Whitehorn’s resignation letter here (.pdf), and the QANRG’s press release introducing the market’s new staff team here (.pdf).

Still despite the changing of the guard, QANRG says the market will maintain many of the same staff members, volunteers and vendors from prior seasons, keeping consistent with the community that has grown around the market over the last four years.

“This year’s market builds on a successful 2010 season that saw customer attendance increase by 94 percent and the growth of a dynamic vendor roster of 64 farmers and prepared food vendors. In its fifth year as the fiscal sponsor, QANRG remains steadfastly committed to creating a sustainable market that can continue to serve the community for years to come,” QANRG President Scott Smith said in a statement released last month.

The market’s new manager, Jamie Collado, brings with her more than nine years of experience working in the local food scene managing restaurant operations, and has a particular interest in health and nutrition. While completing her preceptorship with Seattle Nutrition Action Consortium, Seattle and King County Public Health, she taught healthy eating classes for local teens, putting her undergraduate and graduate education in nutrition and exercise to work.

In addition to adding some new faces, this year’s market will also report to the QAFM Steering Committee, a group made up of former market staff, volunteers, and community members who will be charged with the task of overseeing market operations, community outreach and planning for the market’s long-term sustainability. (Read more about the steering committee in the QANRG press release linked above).

The new market also has a brand new website to match, but ther than that, very little will be changing at the market itself. Held at its usual spot on West Crockett Street between Queen Anne Ave N and 1st Ave W, the market will be extending its hours by a half-hour, going from 3 to 7:30 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. every Thursday through October 6. And each week the market will still be packed with great local vendors, live music, cooking demos, book signings, and more fun events. Check out the list of vendors scheduled to appear at the market this year here.

Want to get involved in the QAFM? Information on how to become a market sponsor by making a tex-deductible donation can be found here.

The QAFM is also still looking for volunteers for the upcoming season for everything from staffing the information table, to donating professional services such as web design or photography. If you’ve got a skill you’d like to share with the market, or would simply like to donate your time, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Kelly Decker at 206-854-0143 or YouMakeQAFMGreat@qafma.net.

We’ll give you the sneak peek at what’s on the agenda for the market’s grand opening next week, but in the meantime don’t forget to ‘like’ the market on its new Facebook page, and follow it on its new Twitter account.